Malaysia

Health and Safety

With its tropical rainforests, green parks and numerous eco-attractions, Malaysia is just great for a healthy vacation. However like most of developing nations, the country faces some security problems so precautions should be taken to enjoy a safe and healthy trip.

Health:

Malaysia offers excellent health care with many world class-hospitals attracting medical-travel patients from the entire globe. Malaysia was rated number one for health care in 2014 by the International Living’s Annual Global for providing high professional surgeries, affordable treatments and best-trained surgeons in the world still some health precautions are essential:

Vaccinations:

Before travelling visit your doctor to see if you need any vaccinations such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, and Varicella as they are very recommended for any destination.

Recommended vaccinations for Malaysia are Poliomyelitis, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B.

Travel insurance:

It’s very recommended to do travel insurance. Make sure you are insured for medical emergencies or have funds to cover any other medical treatment.

If you are planning to do adventurous activities or go to the jungles, make sure you travel insurance cover accidents related to those types of activities.

Mosquitos:

Mosquito-borne diseases are very frequent so you should take the necessary precautions to avoid being bitten especially if you’re planning to adventure in the jungles.

You should pack or buy an insect repellent.

Food and water:

The spicy and hot Malaysian food may cause some serious stomachache so you should always have remedies with you.

Street vendors offer delicious and cheap food but not all of them are clean. So, you should pay attention before buying from them.

Do not drink tap water or fountain water. Only drink bottled water.

Always use hand sanitizers.

Weather:

From June to October, due to the hot and dry weather fires often occur in the west coast and smoke haze may cause high air pollution. For this reason during this period people with existing respiratory problems should avoid these areas.

The weather is hot and the sun is strong all the year. To protect yourself from sunburn, you should not stay long hours under the sun, always take a bottle of water and sunscreen with you and pack suitable clothes.

Safety:

Malaysia is generally a safe and peaceful place for all. In the major touristic cities theft crime can occur but violent attacks against foreigners are very rare. If you plan to visit some areas in the west coast like Sabah you need to be very vigilant and careful as they have a bad crime reputation.

Although the country is very safe there is no harm to take some precautions to avoid any possible trouble:

Make photocopies of all your important documents and credit cards.

As most of taxis don’t use meters, some will try to overcharge you. You should have an idea about the real cost of the ride and fix with him the price at first.

Do not accept any offers from strangers for a tour, a drink or a hotel booking even if he seems trustful. It’s an easy trick to take away your money.

To protect yourself from kidnapping, avoid travelling by night and walking alone in dark and calm areas. If you feel yourself followed go immediately to the nearest security station or call the police.

As pick pocketing is very common, don’t bring or wear any valuable things and never let your belongings out of your sight especially in crowded places (trains, buses, center shops…)

Be careful of scams. You should stay away from lottery games, fake money seekers and especially sms stating that you won an amount of money.